Chapter 141 Meaning of Ren Baozhong

Of course, Lu Benzhong understood what Ren Baozhong meant. Wasn't it just about offering a Dangxiang (Tangut) imperial concubine to the Emperor? After pondering for a long time, the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was worth doing.

There were three reasons:

First, the Emperor did indeed have relatively few consorts. Many people in many places had advised him to take more, from Nanyang to Bianliang, it never stopped. It was only after the two imperial concubines stood side by side that things quieted down a bit.

But now, both imperial concubines were pregnant one after the other, and the Emperor had been away from the capital and probably hadn't touched a woman in over a year… Unless it was back when he was being chased around by the Jurchens, this was a bit too restrained.

Offering an imperial concubine at this time should be acceptable to the Emperor himself.

Second, as Ren Baozhong implied, this matter was beneficial to the state.

Although the Emperor had spoken of integrating the Han and Tangut people last night, intending to assimilate the Tangut people, this was a long-term goal spanning several generations. In comparison, if the Emperor were to take a Tangut imperial concubine, it could at least guarantee the peace of mind of the various Tangut tribes at present.

Third, and most importantly.

Although the two imperial concubines both had children, removing the biggest obstacle to taking a Tangut imperial concubine, even so, this kind of high-reward, high-risk matter was not something everyone could undertake… To put it bluntly, one had to have enough influence and a stable enough position.

And he, Lu Benzhong, was such a person.

Even though he was only a drafter in the Imperial Secretariat, he had enough political capital to handle this matter. Or rather, there were only a few people in the world who could handle this kind of thing, but he, the eldest son of Lu Haowen, was undoubtedly one of them.

Especially now, with so few people at the Emperor's side, it was convenient for him to act.

Of course, after thinking for so long, Lu Benzhong clearly knew that the Zhao Emperor was not one to be trifled with. Just as the Emperor had said last night, as the situation gradually improved, the Zhao Emperor's temper also gradually increased… His, Lu Benzhong's, capital was only enough to bring up this matter, but it was impossible to directly put someone on the Emperor's bed and force the issue.

Not that he couldn't do it, but he didn't dare.

"Your meaning is, you want朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) to take a Tangut consort?" In the afternoon, amidst the cicada's song, Zhao Jiu, dressed in plain clothes, avoiding the heat under a tree while playing chess, showed no extra reaction upon hearing this. He was neither angry nor delighted, and didn't even lift his head.

Lu Benzhong was apprehensive, but now that the matter was at hand, he dared not hesitate any longer, and immediately took a piece and replied solemnly: "I believe that if this is done, it can bring peace of mind to the Tangut people, and it is a good thing for both the state and the individual."

Zhao Jiu nodded, still without showing any emotion: "There's some truth to that."

Lu Benzhong was overjoyed.

But immediately, the Zhao Emperor said again: "But there are many things in the world that make sense… Why should everything be done?"

"Please instruct, Your Majesty," Lu Benzhong said solemnly, rising to his feet.

"What is there to instruct?" Zhao Jiu finally raised his head to glance at the other party, completely nonchalant. "Everything has its advantages and disadvantages, its uses and costs, and one must also consider the timing and the situation… Chess."

Lu Benzhong quickly sat down and hastily filled a piece out of instinct.

Zhao Jiu also continued to lower his head in the cicada's song, saying: "Taking a Tangut concubine is not impossible, but what is entirely good? For example, the choice of person. If Li Gan Shun has a daughter, or we select a woman from the close Weiming clan, the status would be appropriate, but aren't you afraid that she would hate朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) and assassinate me in the night? And if Li Gan Shun doesn't have a daughter, which clan's daughter should we choose? The Rentuo clan or the Wang clan? Should we choose someone from Hengshan or Xingling? Aren't you afraid that this family will take advantage of the situation and cause trouble in these two places again, causing another disaster?"

Lu Benzhong was thoughtful, and also somewhat suspicious.

"Secondly,朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) have endured for a year, and even more so, in the past half-year, 朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) have been in the military camp, without even a eunuch, so the soldiers can be won over. Seeing that the overall situation is about to be completed, can’t I endure for these one or two months?" Zhao Jiu continued to speak while playing chess. "Furthermore, you must also have a broader perspective… You must know that I am not good at fighting wars, but it is simply impossible to conclude the war and divide the situation without me. Now that the war in Western Xia is about to end, the next main task is how to force back the Jurchens and subdue the Khitans, which requires朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) to personally handle. You didn't come earlier, you didn't come later, but you came at this time,朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) don't have the leisure."

Lu Benzhong quickly bowed in agreement, but hastily filled a piece out of his chess instincts.

Zhao Jiu frowned slightly, and continued to lament: "Moreover, what you said about the Tangut imperial concubine being able to appease people's hearts is actually just a saying. How can a woman who is regarded as tribute have such an effect? If you want to appease people's hearts, it is better to focus on the situation. If you can find a way to completely surround the Tangut people's residences, not letting them contact the Jurchens, and also control Yelu Dashi, so that the Khitans dare not easily involve and win over the Tangut people, that is the real stability… Don't you think so? Therefore, according to朕 (zhen, I, imperial use), we should wait for the Northwest affairs to be settled. If the overall situation can be properly arranged by then, there is no need to care about the Tangut people. If things don't work out and the situation is worrying, it won't hurt to take one later."

The Zhao Emperor spoke non-stop with a commanding view, and also took great pains to heavily drop a piece on the chessboard. On the other side, Lu Benzhong quickly nodded, but his heart was already in a panic, and he hastily accompanied him with a piece out of instinct.

Zhao Jiu frowned even more, then raised his head to look at the sky again, only to see that although the shadow of the tree had shifted slightly at this time, the sunlight was no longer dazzling… It was clearly mid-summer, but it felt like spring, which also made him feel unhappy, so he lowered his head again to continue playing chess.

On the other side, Lu Benzhong was rejected by the Emperor in person, and also felt that he had taken things for granted before; and he was also reprimanded for not knowing the overall situation, which made him even more terrified; combined with the miscalculation of Ren Baozhong yesterday, and being deceived by Ren Baozhong today, he was probably also being watched by this extremely shrewd Emperor, and then his future became even more bleak… Therefore, his heart was also depressed, and he played chess even more absentmindedly, just dropping pieces casually based on his many years of experience.

However, this Lu Benzhong made another mistake.

You must know that he usually needs to exert a lot of effort to be evenly matched with the Zhao Emperor. Today, relying on experience and instinct to quickly play, he instantly pushed the Zhao Emperor into a difficult situation on the chessboard… In fact, after the first few pieces, the Emperor was already struggling, and after a few more pieces after the conversation ended, the Emperor was on a dead end on the chessboard.

Fortunately, a gust of wind suddenly came, and the stuffy atmosphere suddenly became refreshing. Then, seeing dark clouds seemingly rolling in from the west, the Zhao Emperor finally barely found an excuse, hurriedly stood up, probably saying that it was going to rain and he should collect the clothes, and began to flip the chessboard and quickly collect the chess pieces, preparing to return to the main hall of the temple to sit.

It was not until this time that Lu Benzhong finally woke up.

The two turned into the Buddhist hall, and in the end, bored on a rainy day, they re-opened the chessboard in front of the Buddha and started a new game. This time, Lu Benzhong used all his abilities to make the Zhao Emperor comfortable.

As the game reached the middle stage, black and white fought for every inch of space in the Buddhist hall, while wind and rain raged in the vast sky outside the hall, which had the flavor of a world within an inch. In the end, it gradually improved Zhao Jiu's mood.

For some reason, after a game, the sky became even darker with the rain. After lighting the lamp and fighting again, Lu Benzhong noticed that Zhao Jiu was somewhat absent-minded again. No matter how hard he tried to serve, he couldn't lift his spirits.

This was the difficulty of being a companion to the Emperor. Although he had taken a lot of blame, helplessly, with a ridiculous move from the Emperor, Mr. Little Donglai could only brace himself and ask: "Is Your Majesty worried about the Lingzhou battle?"

"The last desperate, although there are tens of thousands of people, but once the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Even if there are a few backbones, they can't support the overall situation… What is there to worry about?" Zhao Jiu shook his head repeatedly. "Li Gan Shun shouldn't have run to Houtao."

"Then is Your Majesty worried that the two commanders, Zhai and Dong, may not have enough troops in the east, so that they will be ambushed by Wanyan Huonv?"

"Huonv is capable of doing such a thing." Zhao Jiu smiled in response. "Whether this person is truly filial or pretending to be so that he is riding a tiger and can't get off, it is possible to do such a thing… But he is alone and helpless. Now that our army is surrounded and blocked around Yan'an, if he wants to mobilize troops, he must have the troops from Suide as his rearguard to assist him. And the coincidental thing is that Wushu sent Sa Lihu to be Huonv's rearguard, but there is nothing to worry about."

Lu Benzhong was slightly stunned.

Seeing this, Zhao Jiu explained slightly: "Sa Lihu, one is that he is incompetent. Wu Jie cried when he beat him in Fangzhou. His nickname is 'Crying Langjun.' This person has absolutely no courage to provoke a battle with Han Shizhong and Wu Lin in the situation where the Zhe clan has already taken the initiative to go south and the Dangxiang soldiers at the eastern end of Hengshan have surrendered to us; the other is that this person was raised under Aguda and is in the Western Route Army and Wanyan Bendo in the Eastern Route Army. They are all specially arranged by Aguda's direct line, and now of course they are also the trusted confidants of the Wushu brothers. He dare not disobey Wushu's military orders; the last is that before the Wushu brothers seized power, when Nianhan was in power, he and Huonv split the Western Route Army… With this precedent, he still has to be wary."

"If that's the case, there is nothing to worry about in the east." Lu Benzhong nodded repeatedly.

"Actually, this is probably Wushu's intention. Wushu just doesn't want Huonv to fight us." Zhao Jiu continued to stare at the chessboard and smiled.

"It is still the result of Your Majesty's battle at Yaoshan, which reversed the situation overnight. Wushu has been afraid of Your Majesty and the Imperial Army ever since." Lu Benzhong stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, then quickly flattered him. "The more you look back at that battle, the more you feel it was a battle that defied the heavens and determined the situation. No matter how you think about it, it is important. Otherwise, why would Wanyan Wushu seek peace, abandon land, and avoid war to this point?"

"No." Zhao Jiu shook his head repeatedly, and finally became solemn. "The Battle of Yaoshan, no matter how exaggerated it is, is indeed the reason why Wushu avoided the war this time, but at most it stopped the momentum of the Jin army, making them dare not launch an offensive on this side of the river, but it cannot be said that Wushu is afraid of us from now on… In my opinion, it is precisely because Wushu knows it well, and also knows that朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) and the ministers also know it well, that the Jin army's main force is still superior to the Great Song, so from the time he took power, he has been seeking peace, abandoning land, and avoiding war."

Lu Benzhong was completely confused.

"Because only by taking advantage of the superior military strength and still having strength can the peace, abandonment of land, and avoidance of war be effective. But if we really advance into Hebei and win another great victory, reversing the comparison of military strength between the two sides, he, Wanyan Wushu, may be even more tough than Nianhan." Zhao Jiu did not keep him in suspense. "After all, it is only effective for the stronger side to bow their heads. Once the weaker side bows their head, it is just a futile display of weakness, inviting their own demise… Li Gan Shun shouldn't have sent envoys to seek peace with朕 (zhen, I, imperial use), and I am really surprised why the court should always agree whenever Western Xia is running out of strength and only asks for peace?"

Lu Benzhong was slightly stunned. After thinking for a long time and spending a lot of effort on the chessboard, he carefully placed a piece and then earnestly asked for advice: "If that's the case, may I ask Your Majesty, now that the situation on both the east and west sides is secure, what exactly are you concerned about?"

"I am concerned about three things." Zhao Jiu sneered in response. "The first is naturally that although the situation on the left and right is secure, I don't know when it will come to an end?"

Lu Benzhong made an "oh" sound and instantly understood.

"Secondly, Shanbei, Hengshan, and Xingling have suffered from war. One side is the Han people, so there is no need to mention it, but the other two places are mostly Tangut people… How should they be appeased? I did say that I want to treat everyone equally, but if I give the same post-war tax reduction treatment to Xingling and Hengshan as to Yan'an, it will inevitably lead to resentment from the Guanzhong gentry and people, saying that朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) am actually appeasing the Tangut people in the same way as them." The Zhao Emperor continued to sigh.

Lu Benzhong also sighed: "Either the Tangut people can make contributions, or they have to suffer a little this time… Where is there absolute fairness in the world?"

"That's right." Zhao Jiu was still lamenting. "It's like朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) am knocking on Han Shizhong in this battle, and specifically not allowing Han Shizhong to come into contact with the Western Army's war…朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) knew that he felt wronged that day, but 朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) couldn't let go, otherwise, with his temper and decades of public and private grievances with Western Xia, he would probably really massacre the city as soon as he arrived in Xingling or Hengshan, which would instead arouse unwarranted resistance. In comparison, Yue Fei doesn't need to be mentioned, Wu Jie is also cautious, and even Qu Duan is still proper in military discipline, although his actions are not appropriate in many ways."

Lu Benzhong was slightly stunned. He really didn't think about this, he just thought that the Emperor was just purely knocking on Han Shizhong at the time.

Zhao Jiu did not talk about it in depth. After mentioning it casually, he shook his head and smiled again: "There is one more thing. I heard Ren Baozhong talk about the geography of Western Xia in the morning, and after summarizing the intelligence, I found one thing particularly strange… According to Ren Baozhong, as long as朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) lock the Keyi Gate at the northernmost end of the Xingling Plain, Yelu Dashi will not be able to pass through Xingling. Even if Dashi passed through Xingling this time, he still turned to the Helan Mountains from some big sinkhole north of Tanliang City, passing through the northern gate of Xingling, Keyi Gate. Since Hexi and Houtao cannot be connected from behind the Helan Mountains, why would he still rush to the northern Houtao after knowing that Xingling has been taken by the Great Song? You must know that after he went west and established a foundation in the Western Regions, he was even gradually abandoning Khodun, and this time he even promised something to the Klie tribe's Huer Zhahusi in order to take Houtao… There must be something to this."

Lu Benzhong knew that this was the time for him, the head of this accompanying inner minister, to perform, but he thought about it again and again, but he couldn't figure it out. Instead, he saw Zhao Jiu speaking eloquently, as if he already had a guess in his mind.

"Actually, there is one more thing." Seeing that he was about to lose again, Zhao Jiu simply threw the chess piece in his hand and looked at the rain outside the door and said sternly: "If Yelu Dashi and Wanyan Wushu are fighting for Houtao, one side obviously has an advantage and the other can't hold on… What should朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) do? Should朕 (zhen, I, imperial use) sit back and watch one of them succeed?"

Lu Benzhong's face remained unchanged, but his heart was already in a mess, obviously not knowing how to respond to the Emperor's consultation.

You must know that Lu Benzhong was first implicated by the Yuanyou partisans and could not enter the officialdom. When he was young, he claimed that he was not appreciated for his talents, so he acted frivolously all day long. But now, the ready-made opportunity was placed in front of him, or to put it bluntly, Zhao Jiu clearly gave him a chance because of Lu Haowen's face, but when it came to it, he found that he was not helpful at all in the great event where the emperor really needed to solve his doubts.

This was the most depressing thing.

Just like that, not to mention how anxious Lu Benzhong was in his heart, or how helpless Ren Baozhong was when he knew the situation that night, only to say that late that day, the summer rain stopped slightly, and Wu Jie suddenly sent an urgent military report to Youzhou, clearly informing the Emperor of the result of the Lingzhou battle. And the next day, Zhai Cong in the west also sent envoys to report, clearly informing him that Huonv had tried to raid Hengshan directly to take Youzhou the previous day, but was blocked by Dong Xian. He also informed him in uncertain language that Huonv might choose to directly retreat to the Suide army after the raid failed.

In response, Zhao Jiu hesitated again and again, and finally, after thinking for half a day, he formally issued an edict, ordering Hu Yin to be in charge of the people, Han Shizhong to be in charge of the army, and Yang Yizhong to be the supervisor, leading the troops around Yan'an, as well as the newly surrendered Dangxiang tribes in eastern Hengshan, to independently decide on the progress of the eastern line's advancement, including the defense of Tongzhou in the south.

Then, the Emperor launched the fifth move since entering Guanzhong, taking Jie Yuan and Yue Chao's troops, plus the Imperial Guards led by Liu Yan, and Lu Ren and other very few inner ministers, as well as the international friend Zheng Zhichang, who dared not not go and really didn't want to go, plus two or three thousand Tangut people temporarily recruited, to make up a force of 10,000 troops, and went to Xingling.

On the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth month, the Emperor Zhao passed through the old Great Wall road north of Yanzhou, stuck to the northern end of the瀚海 (Han Hai, desert region), arrived in Lingzhou, and gathered the 30,000 troops, mainly composed of the Imperial Rear Army led by Wu Jie, Guo Hao, and Yang Zheng.

On the sixth day of the fifth month, while crossing the Yellow River, Emperor Zhao ordered all places to gather directly in Xingqing Prefecture, without having to meet him. At this time, as Zhao Jiu crossed the river, the Yinshan Plain had gathered generals such as Yue Fei, Qu Duan, Wang De, and Wu Jie, as well as 50,000 to 60,000 troops from their Imperial Forward Army, Rear Army, Cavalry Army, and Middle Army. If you add the Western Xia troops who had just surrendered everywhere, the number of troops around Zhao Jiu had in fact approached 100,000.

On the eighth day of the fifth month, after entering Xingqing Prefecture, Zhao Jiu did not have time to commend the merits of Yue Fei, Qu Duan, and Wang De for breaking through the Helan Mountains, nor did he have time to accept the white yak tail flag and black yak tail flag. Instead, he first inquired about the reserves in Tanliang City, Western Xia. After learning that there were actually more than 200,000斛 (hu, unit of volume) of grain and 800,000 bundles of fodder, he was overjoyed. He first dispatched Yue Chao's troops to be the garrison of Xingqing Prefecture, and then dispatched Zhai Cong's troops to be the garrison of Lingzhou, jointly assisting Hu Hongxiu in taking overall control of Xingling. Immediately, he formally issued an edict, appointing Yue Fei as the commander of the three armies, taking overall control of the remaining generals, and temporarily recruiting more than 10,000 auxiliary soldiers, obtaining 100,000 troops… Among them, the more than 50,000 Imperial troops were naturally the main fighting force, while the newly surrendered Western Xia soldiers, except for those who had made meritorious service and had been promised, were all changed to auxiliary soldiers mainly engaged in transporting grain, delivering supplies, and other logistical support…

Then, the entire army marched north to gather in Tanliang City.

Before leaving, Emperor Zhao did not forget to issue an additional edict, ordering the army to follow the road and not trample on the green seedlings in the north.

And the Imperial carriage set off again with the army.

On the fourteenth day of the fifth month, the Imperial carriage followed the army to Tanliang City. After personally inspecting the grain and fodder in the city, Emperor Zhao directly issued another edict, ordering Yue Fei's troops, who had previously followed Yelu Dashi's troops to control the Keyi Gate, to open the gates. Then, with Hu Hongxiu, the temporary acting Pacification Commissioner of Ningxia Road, as the logistics assistant, the entire army went north out of the pass.

At this time, everyone had no doubts, knowing that the Emperor was going to lead these 100,000 troops across the big sinkhole, through Keyi Gate, and to Houtao… In fact, there were remonstrances, starting from Xingqing Prefecture, but Emperor Zhao insisted on his own way and had great power, so no one dared to object.

On the eighteenth day of the fifth month, the vanguard of the army marched to Shunhua Ferry, and the news from the front became completely dense… It is said that Yelu Dashi and Wanyan Wushu were both caught off guard, and the two sides met suddenly in Houtao, a good place where the wind blows and the grass is low and cattle and sheep can be seen. In addition, there were life-and-death feuds, so there was no escape and they were unwilling to hide any longer. Instead, they each occupied castles, with field cavalry warfare as the main mode of operation, and had been fighting for more than half a month.

The latest result was that the Jurchens were simply too good at fighting the Khitans, and Yelu Dashi was gradually unable to hold on. Of course, it was more likely due to the lack of food… The reason why Zhao Jiu advanced so quickly was because as soon as he crossed the Yellow River, Yue Fei and Hu Hongxiu sent documents from Yelu Dashi requesting grain… In short, whether it was due to insufficient combat power or lack of food, Dashi finally had to retreat to the Houtao fortress, Wulahaicheng, to control the Yinshan Pass and the Yellow River waterway, in order to avoid the Jurchen's sharp edge.

However, the two sides were not idle during this period. Dashi and Wushu almost met their match, and each used the trick of sowing discord… Dashi tried to win over the Yu Du's old troops, who were shaken by seeing his military power, that is, Yelu Maba's Manka, while Wushu also communicated with the two major Mongol tribes, the Klie tribe and the Qiyan tribe, who were helping in the battle. He promised the Qiyan tribe's Habule Khan to be the Mongol King, and sent gifts to the Klie tribe, while not forgetting to let the small Mongol tribes who had submitted to the Great Jin come to aid.

It was very lively for a while.

Of course, the facts proved that most things in the world still depend on fists. Yelu Dashi was at a disadvantage, and Yelu Maba simply did not move at all, while the leader of one of the two major Mongol tribes, the Klie tribe, Huer Zhahusi, was obviously somewhat shaken and repeated.

Although this expedition caused a lot of people to misunderstand, and some even remonstrated that Emperor Zhao was eager for success and wasted the Western Xia national reserves of Tanliang City for nothing, after hearing the news, Zhao Jiu was convinced that he had not allowed the worst situation to happen.

On the twentieth day of the fifth month, the Song army crossed the fork of the Yellow River in Houtao. At this time, Zhao Jiu sent a letter to Yelu Dashi, written by Lu Benzhong, in the tone of Yue Fei, extremely arrogant, claiming that he was ordered to respond to the request and lead an army of 100,000 to aid, and asking Yelu Dashi to open the city and allow the royal army to enter.

While sending the letter, the Song army completely ignored the news that Li Gan Shun might have abandoned Houtao after the battle and drilled into the desert area south of the Yellow River. Instead, they continued to flow down the outer line of the Yellow River, using the outer line of the Yellow River waterway as the logistics line, advancing by land and water, and heading straight for Wulahaicheng, where Yelu Dashi was located.

Speaking of which, it was not until he got here that Emperor Zhao realized that the Yellow River in Houtao actually forks and merges, and Houtao is a river bend in the literal sense. Moreover, the northern line of the fork, which passes under the foot of the Yinshan Mountains and sticks to the city of Wulahaicheng, is obviously wider.

It can only be said that it does save trouble in terms of logistics.

ps: The 141st Moe appeared, thank you Feng Xiaotang's Six Flavor Di Huang Wan Jun; the 142nd Moe appeared, Super Chicken Warrior Fat Seal... equally grateful.

By the way, Ji Cha begged me to give him another chapter push. I hesitated for a long time and agreed after seeing that he had made a relatively sincere effort... But the book seems to be "This is My Planet"?